Eighteen months after acquiring Royal University Plaza in Coral Springs, Florida, owner CPAC Royal University, LLC, a joint venture between principals of CREC and Lubert Adler, has finalized a dramatic repositioning that more than doubled occupancy, added 15,000 square feet of rentable retail space, and lured high-profile anchors including Orchard Supply and Total Wine & More to the neighborhood shopping center.

Located at 2556 North University Drive, Royal University Plaza was an underperforming asset when CPAC and Lubert Adler purchased the property for $26 million in February 2015. At the time, the center was 45 percent occupied and in need of significant capital improvements that would help attract major national brands to the center situated at the high-volume intersection of University Drive and Royal Palm Boulevard.

Central to the JV ownership group’s turnaround was enlisting CREC to undertake an aggressive retail leasing and marketing campaign and oversee a series of capital improvements, including a 15,000-square-foot expansion that opened the door to a new 37,000-square-foot Orchard Supply store set to open in November – one of the brand’s first locations in South Florida.

“As we began evaluating the neighborhood following last year’s acquisition, we quickly identified a lack of available boxes capable of attracting junior anchors,” says Alan Esquenazi, a partner at CREC. “By reconfiguring storefronts and adding additional space, we transformed Royal University Plaza into a top-performing asset in the Coral Springs neighborhood within a year-and-a-half.”

Today, the 115,000-square-foot Royal University Plaza is 94 percent leased and home to a tenant roster that includes Total Wine & More, Pet Supermarket, Jimmy John’s, Third Federal Bank, Hertz Rental Cars, Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., and AAA Auto Club.

“Royal University Plaza is a classic example of a retail asset that benefitted from a creative approach to leasing, marketing and construction management,” explains CPAC Principal Warren Weiser. “We identified an underperforming property in a submarket that was home to strong demographics and CREC executed a strategy that maximized asset value and elevated the center’s appeal among some of the country’s hottest retail brands.”